Is There Purpose in Biology?

Is There Purpose in Biology? PDF Author: Denis Alexander
Publisher: Monarch Books
ISBN: 0857217151
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
Atheists assert that the natural world has no meaning or purpose. Dr Denis Alexander, Emeritus Director of The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion at St. Edmunds College, Cambridge, draws a different conclusion. Not only do recent evolutionary biological data appear inconsistent with the claim that the world is purposeless, but the Christian doctrine of creation has provided and continues to provide both context and stimulus for the study of the natural world. Christians started biology! However, is a belief in an omnipotent, benign Creator consistent with a world of pain and suffering? From a lifetime's study in the biological sciences, Denis Alexander believes that whilst the cost of existence is extremely high, it can nonetheless be squared with the idea of a God of love whose ultimate purposes for humankind render that cost more comprehensible.

Is There Purpose in Biology?

Is There Purpose in Biology? PDF Author: Denis Alexander
Publisher: Monarch Books
ISBN: 0857217151
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
Atheists assert that the natural world has no meaning or purpose. Dr Denis Alexander, Emeritus Director of The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion at St. Edmunds College, Cambridge, draws a different conclusion. Not only do recent evolutionary biological data appear inconsistent with the claim that the world is purposeless, but the Christian doctrine of creation has provided and continues to provide both context and stimulus for the study of the natural world. Christians started biology! However, is a belief in an omnipotent, benign Creator consistent with a world of pain and suffering? From a lifetime's study in the biological sciences, Denis Alexander believes that whilst the cost of existence is extremely high, it can nonetheless be squared with the idea of a God of love whose ultimate purposes for humankind render that cost more comprehensible.

Understanding Purpose

Understanding Purpose PDF Author: Philippe Huneman
Publisher: University Rochester Press
ISBN: 9781580462655
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 206

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Book Description
A collection of essays investigating key historical and scientific questions relating to the concept of natural purpose in Kant's philosophy of biology. Understanding Purpose is an exploration of the central concept of natural purpose [Naturzweck] in Kant's philosophy of biology. Kant's work in this area is marked by a strong teleological concern: living organisms, in his view, are qualitatively different from mechanistic devices, and as a result they cannot be understood by means of the same principles. At the same time, Kant's own use of the concept of purpose does not presuppose any theological commitments, and is merely "regulative"; that is, it is employed as a heuristic device. The contributors to this volume also investigate the following key historical questions relating to Kant's philosophy of biology: How does it relate to European work in the life sciences that was done before Kant arrived on the scene? How did Kant's unique approach to the philosophy of biology in turn influence later work in this area? The issues explored in this volume are as pertinent to the history of philosophy as they are to the history of science -- it is precisely the blurred boundaries between these two disciplines that allows for new perspectives on Kantianism and early nineteenth-century German biology to emerge. Contributors: Jean-Claude Dupont, Mark Fisher, Philippe Huneman, Robert J. Richards, Phillip R. Sloan, Stéphane Schmitt, and John Zammito. Philippe Huneman is researcher at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Unit of the Université Paris.

Nature's Destiny

Nature's Destiny PDF Author: Michael Denton
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0743237625
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 482

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Book Description
A leading evolutionary thinker, biologist, and medical researcher asks the question: "Could life elsewhere be substantially different from life on Earth?"--and builds a step-by-step argument for human inevitability. 65 illustrations and photos.

DOES BIOLOGY HAVE A PURPOSE?

DOES BIOLOGY HAVE A PURPOSE? PDF Author: DENIS. ALEXANDER
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780857217141
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description


Nature's Purposes

Nature's Purposes PDF Author: Colin Allen
Publisher: Mit Press
ISBN: 9780262011686
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 597

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Book Description
Within the natural sciences, only biologists take seriously teleological statements about design, purpose and adaptive function. Some biologists claim that to understand the complex morphological and behavioural traits of organisms we must say what they are for, which is to give a teleological explanation of why organisms have them. Others argue that the theory of natural selection, in providing statistical explanations for the same phenomena, obviates any need for teleological thinking. If teleology cannot be eliminated from biology, it raises fundamental questions about the nature of biological explanation and about the relationship of biology to the rest of science.

The Vital Question

The Vital Question PDF Author: Nick Lane
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781781250372
Category : Cells
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
A game-changing book on the origins of life, called the most important scientific discovery 'since the Copernican revolution' in The Observer.

Concepts of Biology

Concepts of Biology PDF Author: Samantha Fowler
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781739015510
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Color print. Concepts of Biology is designed for the typical introductory biology course for nonmajors, covering standard scope and sequence requirements. The text includes interesting applications and conveys the major themes of biology, with content that is meaningful and easy to understand. The book is designed to demonstrate biology concepts and to promote scientific literacy.

Positioning Synthetic Biology to Meet the Challenges of the 21st Century

Positioning Synthetic Biology to Meet the Challenges of the 21st Century PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309225868
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 81

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Book Description
Synthetic biology-unlike any research discipline that precedes it-has the potential to bypass the less predictable process of evolution to usher in a new and dynamic way of working with living systems. Ultimately, synthetic biologists hope to design and build engineered biological systems with capabilities that do not exist in natural systems-capabilities that may ultimately be used for applications in manufacturing, food production, and global health. Importantly, synthetic biology represents an area of science and engineering that raises technical, ethical, regulatory, security, biosafety, intellectual property, and other issues that will be resolved differently in different parts of the world. As a better understanding of the global synthetic biology landscape could lead to tremendous benefits, six academies-the United Kingdom's Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering, the United States' National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering, and the Chinese Academy of Science and Chinese Academy of Engineering-organized a series of international symposia on the scientific, technical, and policy issues associated with synthetic biology. Positioning Synthetic Biology to Meet the Challenges of the 21st Century summarizes the symposia proceedings.

Molecular Biology of the Cell

Molecular Biology of the Cell PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780815332183
Category : Cells
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description


Nature's Destiny

Nature's Destiny PDF Author: Michael J. Denton
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780756772628
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 454

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Book Description
Could life elsewhere in the universe be significantly different from life on Earth? Must it rely on carbon, water, DNA, amino acids, and proteins? Could there be an alternative to DNA, or could DNA be constructed out of different components? From these building blocks Denton asks the question: Is it possible there are life forms radically different from those realized during the course of evolution on Earth? Is a Homo sapiens-like creature the only possible highly intelligent species, given the laws of biology that exist throughout the universe? The answer to his last question is yes. For life to develop beyond the most primitive stage requires an earthlike planet, with earthlike atmosphere and oceans. Shows that our biosphere is central to nature's destiny. Illustrated.